Politics & Government - 31 December 2007

2007-12-31 18:59:21 · 12 answers · asked by Thomas B 3 in Government

2007-12-31 18:43:37 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Military

2007-12-31 18:42:52 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Civic Participation

Sources:
Alipac.com
NumbersUsa.com

2007-12-31 18:40:49 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Military

Then what is? http://www.warisnottheanswer.net/

2007-12-31 18:28:36 · 9 answers · asked by GM 2 in Politics

I don't mean this as an attack, but it seems that all the Ron Paul supporters have kind of a political tunnel vision and refuse to acknowledge other options.

I have seen people marching around campus with Ron Paul signs or writing "Paul '08" in chalk on the sidewalks since September.

People who support other candidates seem perfectly happy to accept that someone else might become president, and to be honest, I know nothing about him, and the fans are scaring me away from trying to learn.

My question is this: what makes his supporters so loyal? What has he done to earn it?

Again, I mean no offense.

2007-12-31 18:26:03 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

should they be allowed to copyright their names, since businesses are allowed to do that to protect their invention assets?

2007-12-31 18:25:41 · 8 answers · asked by Mal 1 in Law & Ethics

Most people aren't even aware of this. After all that's gone wrong in Iraq and Afghanistan, now we're sending our troops into Pakistan. An agreement was made between US and Paki forces the day before Bhutto was killed? What are the possible positives and negatives?

2007-12-31 18:22:55 · 10 answers · asked by doug4jets 7 in Military

were they?

2007-12-31 18:21:46 · 6 answers · asked by JN 3 in Military

The last census was too intrusive so I do not want to answer more than I have to in the next one.I also object to different questions on ethnicity and religion in different UK countries. I want to state I am English.

2007-12-31 18:21:36 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Law & Ethics

And why did Condoleeza Rice LIE when she said the Clinton administration left no plan to attack Al Queda?

It's right here! This is a memo from counter-terrorism coordinator Richard Clark (anti-terrorism gov't expert since Reagan) to Condoleeza Rice on the strategy to attack Al Queda. It urgently requested a high level meeting to discuss Al Queda and included two attachments:

- A declassified Dec 2000 "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jighaidst Networks of al-Qida"
- A September 1998 "Pol-Mil Plan for al-Qida" which remains classified

http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm
=======================

LET'S SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION INSTEAD OF CHANGING THE SUBJECT.

2007-12-31 18:19:26 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

While I'm on disability,my bills are piling up,isn't it the responsibility of the court appointed personal representative to make sure that I'm taken care off?

2007-12-31 17:58:14 · 5 answers · asked by Leen V 4 in Law & Ethics

I been in the Army for about 18 months...and one thing I notice about the Military(or could be just the Army) is your Leadership or Sgts pushing us too hard when we doing PT.

For Example...... Like if I'm running in formation during PT...and I fall out because my toe is killing me...my Squad Leader or Platoon Sgt will jump outta the formation as well & tell me to keep going. The Sgt don't even know how my toe feels & don't know how much pain I'm in....but yet tells me to keep moving.

The Platoon Sgt/ Squad Leader is NOT a doctor & is NOT in my body to know how much it hurts or how it feels.

So why do they tell us to keep going so that we can make what's wrong with us(strained or broken part of the body) WORST?

I know if I was a Sgt & I see my soldier falling out..I would tell them to stop & see what's wrong with them. Not say.."Keep Going! It's normal!"

2007-12-31 17:46:55 · 23 answers · asked by Jay B 5 in Military

2007-12-31 17:39:55 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Elections

I am a 21 year old female (5'9 if that makes a difference). I need to get a gun (legally, with a license). I know nothing about guns....I've fired .22 rifle a few times, and an old .38 service revolver.

I need one for personal protection, does anyone have any suggestions on what to get?

Thanks in advance

2007-12-31 17:36:32 · 17 answers · asked by Traci B 3 in Law Enforcement & Police

Will my son have a better world than I had? Will your children? How can we ensure that it will be better?

What are we waiting for?

2007-12-31 17:35:17 · 5 answers · asked by Schmorgen 6 in Politics

I've heard that it's 12 years of age.

2007-12-31 17:27:33 · 5 answers · asked by redhairedmama75 5 in Law & Ethics

Anyone who was paying attention when Reagan was in office could tell there was something wrong with him. He was obviously in secondary stages of Alzheimer's. Don't you feel in an alternate universe when Republicans credit him with achievements he obviously did not have the mental capacity to accomplish?

2007-12-31 17:25:15 · 20 answers · asked by dsgrntld1 1 in Politics

because the palestinians are suffering
here are some facts fo zionists

following numbers are numbers from septmeber 2000 to march 2004

Palestinians killed-2,859 deaths including 527, or 19% children (below 18 years). At least 82% civilian. 600 killed by heavy weapons. 1,728 killed by live ammunition. 308 in assassination attacks/extrajudicial killings (grave breach of the 4th Geneva Convention and as such considered war crimes). 152 of those were bystanders or “unintended” victims, killed as they were with the victim, 35 were children and 25 were women. Investigations were not conducted, granting immunity to Israelis and allowing them to act unlawfully


Palestinians injured-41000 West Bank4 :35.7% children, 32.4% by live ammunition, 64.9% upper body, 39% moderate-severe (16,673 cases, 28/02/02)
Gaza Strip 5 : c.20% children, 37% live ammunition, 60% upper body, (6000 cases - 6/3/02)
UNICEF estimates 7000 children injured

Permanet disabilities-Estimated at 2,5007. Estimated 500 Palestinian child disabled

Attacks on Emergency Medical Personnel and Services-25 (1 German) physicians / nurses / ambulance drivers killed while on duty (opening fire on ambulances/shelling of residential areas).10
425 PRCS and Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) Emergency Medical Technicians and first aid workers injured (including 2 physicians). 121 ambulances were attacked and damaged.
36 PRCS and UPMRC ambulances destroyed.
197 attacks on PRCS ambulances by live ammunition, rubber bullets, and/or stones thrown by Israeli settlers.
991 incidents of denial of access to PRCS ambulances at roadblocks were reported.
85 Palestinian deaths due to prevention of access to emergency health care or treatment of chronic diseases. 290 counts of hospitals and clinics attacked and damaged. 71 emergency personnel and volunteers arrested since the invasion on 29 Match 11. During the long invasion in March/April 2002, UPMRC staff were stopped, detained and denied access up to 3 times daily, since April 2002 the mobile clinics severely obstructed.

Attacks on Hospitals (wounding patients, cutting off electricity supplies)-Shelling of French hospital (Bethlehem), damages estimated at $25,000,12
Al Hussein hospital (Bethlehem).13
Live ammunition fired at Beit Jala, A-Dibs, French Hospitals in Bethlehem.14
Al Alia Hospital (Hebron) on 3 occasions,15
Al Yamama (Bethlehem), PRCS Maternity Hospital (Ramallah) and Ramallah General Hospital shelled;16 access denied to Khalid hospital (Ramallah) for several days17
Settlers attacked Augusta Victoria Hospital (Jerusalem), shot security officer (automatic gun).18
During the long invasion in March/April 2002 a large number of hospitals and medical clinics were attacked throughout the West Bank.

Closures and curfews
Collective punishment:
Affects 3 million Palestinians in West Bank & Gaza Strip. The most severe and sustained set of movement restrictions imposed since the beginning of the occupation in 196723.
- No access to medical care
- Movement restrictions on medical personnel / supplies
Internal closures and siege: 120 Israeli checkpoints in WB & GS. These and road blocks divide West Bank into 300 separate clusters and the Gaza Strip into 3 separate clusters.
Severe internal closure: West Bank: 66% of days, Partial internal closure: West Bank: 34%, Gaza 94% of days24
Closure causes humanitarian problems such as water and gas shortages (ed Beit Furik & Beit Dajan). Other examples: Residents of Al Mawasi ‘tagged’ with identity numbers, so that Israeli army can permit them minimum movement in and out of area. Israel erected electric gate at entrance to al Sifa, residents permitted movement in/out only from 7-9am and 3-5pm.
May 2002: Israeli government introduces new personal permit regime and makes movement between Palestinian towns in the West Bank impossible. The Bantustanization of the Palestinian territories is complete. Construction of “separation” fence between the West Bank and Israel started.
External closures: West Bank and Gaza Strip sealed off from the rest of the world.
Gaza International airport been closed since February 2001; “safe passage” between Gaza Strip & West Bank closed since Oct. 2000 (Oslo accords forbid its closure); frequent lengthy closure of bridge to Jordan, border with Egypt (Rafah entrance), entrances to Israel (Al-Mintar and Beit Hanoun crossings).
Since the beginning of March 2002 the Israeli army has repeatedly invaded areas under Palestinian control and placed towns and villages under prolonged curfew.


Palestinian arrests and detention by Israeli authorities-It is estimated that since the 29th of March 2002, 15,000 Palestinians have been detained,
6,000 of who remain in prison.
Of these, 1,700 Palestinians are under administrative detention25 meaning they have not had a trial, and are imprisoned without charges being brought against them.
350 Palestinian children currently held in Israeli prisons and detention centers inside Israel and in the West Bank.
Of these around 30 are held in administrative detention26. Many of the prisoners are subjected to torture and do not receive adequate medical care.

Property Damage
Attacks on residential areas (Collective punishment)-During the first 15 months of the Intifada physical damage amounted to US$ 305 million27. During the month long invasion in March/April the Israeli army destroyed and looted US$ 361 million worth of property28
Since the beginning of the Intifada until February 2002: Shelling & demolition destroyed 720 homes completely, and 11,553 damaged.
73,600 people were affected29.
30 mosques,
12 churches30,
134 water wells31, cemeteries.
34,606 olive & fruit trees uprooted32 & 1162.4 dunums of land confiscated33, 14,339 dunums of land bulldozed or burned34.
During the March-April invasion: 881 homes destroyed,
2,883 houses in refugee camps damaged affecting 22,500 people living in those houses35.
Gaza strip: more than 601 houses completely demolished, approx.
16,000 dunums (16 million square meters of land), mostly agricultural razed by the Israeli army36


Education
(Collective punishment-MoE reports 850 schools temporarily closed,
8 schools turned into military barracks.
185 schools were shelled and fired upon by Israeli soldiers;
11 schools completely destroyed,
9 vandalized.
15 schools used as detention centers and army barracks.
132 Palestinian students killed and 2,500 injured on their way to or from school
1135 school days have been lost because of Israeli attacks37.
During the long invasion in March/April 2002
54, 730 teaching sessions per day were lost due the complete cessation of classes

Economic conditions
(Collective punishment) -Total income losses to Palestinian economy est. between $ 3.2-10 billion (income only, does not include cost of destruction of public and private property).
Daily domestic losses: $6.0 – 8.6 million/business day
Total wage income loss: $59.4 million
Unemployment: Gaza 67%, West Bank 48%
75% of Palestinians living in poverty (less than $2 a day): 84.6% in Gaza and 57.8% in the West Bank38
Economic losses forcing 69% of Palestinian firms either to shut down or reduce production39
51% drop in GNP.40 Israel prevents 125,000 Palestinians from going to work41. The World Bank estimates that in case of a solution to the conflict and lifting of the closure it will take at least 2 years for the Palestinian economy to restore to a pre-Intifada per capita income level42

UN Resolutions/ Reports: Condemning Israel for disproportionate and excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians and failure to adhere to international laws.-7 May 2002: UN General Assembly, 10th Emergency Special Session resumed. Resolution ES-10/10: condemns the attacks committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Jenin refugee camp, and also condemns the refusal by Israel to cooperate with the Secretary-General’s fact-finding team to Jenin RC. Demands that Israel cease all hindrances and obstacles to the work of humanitarian org. and UN agencies in the OPT.
19 April 2002: Security Council resolution 1405: calls on Israel to lift the restrictions imposed on the operations of humanitarian organizations and welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General to send a fact finding team to develop accurate information regarding events in the Jenin RC. (Israel refused to cooperate with the fact-finding team)
30 March 2002: Security Council resolution 1402: calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from Palestinian cities
15 April 2002: UN Human Right Commission condemns Israel for mass killings of Palestinians, blames Israel for “gross violations” of humanitarian law and affirms the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation
20 Dec 2001: General Assembly calls for halt to violence, implementation of Mitchell Report, reiterates applicability of IV Geneva Convention
6 Dec 2001: 114 Signatories to IV Geneva Convention issued joint declaration condemning Israel for indiscriminate and disproportionate use of violence and call for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law
3 Dec 2001: General Assembly votes on 6 resolutions criticizing Israel, areas include – status of Jerusalem, illegal Israeli settlements, inalienable rights of Palestinian people to self determination.
23 Nov 2001: UN Committee Against Torture, condemning Israeli practices
7- 13 Nov 2000: Mary Robinson, UN Human Rights Commissioner visits the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Following this she recommended the establishment of an international monitoring presence in the OPT.
20 Oct 2000: UN General Assembly, 10th Emergency Special Session
19 Oct 2000: UN Commission on Human Rights, 5th Special Session
11-15 Oct 2000: Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
7 Oct 2000: UN Security Council Resolution 1322: deplores the provocation carried our at the Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem on 28 September 2000, calls upon Israel to abide by its legal obligations and responsibilities under the 4th Geneva Convention

Foreign Government comments on Israel April 10 2002: USA, EU, Russia and UN jointly call on Israel to immediately withdraw from Palestinian territories
April 16 2002: EU Commissioner on Development and Humanitarian Assistance says Israel impedes efforts of rescue workers and ridicules humanitarian law



International Laws/ Resolutions violated-UN resolutions 242, 338/4th Geneva Convention/Hague Regulations/UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials/International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights/Convention on Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination/Convention on Rights of the Child and others

my sources(which includes the sites sources)

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/fact...c...

1 Health, Development, Information, and Policy Institute (HDIP)statistics based on infomation available at time of calculation
2 B’Tselem report: Illusions of restraint: Human Rights Violations During the Events in the Occupied Territories 29th September – 2nd December, 2000

3 Statistics can only account for those who went to health centers

4 Ministry of Health

5 Palestinian Center for Human Rights

6 UN Special Rapporteur of Commission on Human Rights, report March 2002, reported in DCI-PAL press release, 19th March, 2002

7 General Union of Disabled Palestinians

8 UN Special Rapporteur of Commission on Human Rights, report March 2002, reported in DCI-PAL press release, 19th March, 2002

9 Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 27th October 2001
Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
10 Palestinian Center for Human Rights: 28th June, 2002

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11 Palestinian Red Crescent Society 10th July, 2002,
12 Director, Holy Family Hospital, Bethlehem

13 During Israeli occupation of Bethlehem 19th - 29th October, 2001

14 Al- Ayyam newspaper, 19th Oct, 2000

15 LAW Society, Nov 4th and 8th 2000

16 During 3 day invasion and occupation of Ramallah, (12th-15th March, 2002)
17 During Israeli occupation of Ramallah, October 2001

18 LAW Society, Oct 29th 2000

19 Palestinian National Authority State Information Service
20 Information from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Ramallah

21 Al-Haq

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22 Terje Rød Larsen in BBC interview, 19 April 2002
23 A report by the Gaza office of the UN Middle East envoy Terje Rød-Larsen, February 2001.

24 UNSCO: “The Impact on the Palestinian economy of confrontation, border closures and mobility restrictions’, (Oct 2000 -30th Sept, 2001)

25 LAW Society (press release), 17th July, 2002

26 DCI information received August, 2002

27 UNSCO

28 Does not include income losses and social and humanitarian costs. Assessment made by international donors

29 Palestinian Humanitarian Disaster, U.S. Agency for International Development, July 10, 2002

30 Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace

31 Al-Mezan 2001

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32 LAW Society, 29th Nov 2001 (figure from beginning of 2000)
33 LAW Society, 29th Nov 2001, (figure from beginning of 2000)

34 LAW Society, 29th Nov 2001, (figure from beginning of 2000)

35 Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 3rdJune, 2002

36 Ibid

37 Ministry of Education, 17 Jan 2002, information for Ministry of Education schools only, (from 28th Sept, 2000)

38 PCBS, April 2002

39 All above stats: UNSCO: ‘The Impact on the Palestinian Economy of Confrontation, Border Closures and Mobility Restrictions’, Oct 2000 - 30th Sept, 2001

40 Report by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation

41 Associated Press, 29th Oct, 2000

42 World Bank report, March 2002

2007-12-31 17:21:59 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Government

NOTE: BARNA IS A CHRISTIAN RESEARCH ORGANIZATION

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Baptists have the highest divorce rate of any Christian denomination, and are more likely to get a divorce than atheists and agnostics, according to a national survey.

The survey conducted by Barna Research Group in Ventura, Calif., found that 29 percent of all adult Baptists have been through a divorce. Among Christian groups, only those who attend non-denominational Protestant churches were more likely to be divorced, with a 34 percent divorce rate.

Alabama, with a population of 4.3 million, has more than one million Southern Baptists and a majority of evangelical Protestants. The state ranks fourth nationally in divorce rates, behind Nevada, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to U.S. government statistics.

2007-12-31 17:21:09 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

John Edwards is the total package with his Breck Girl good looks and smooth talking Southern Style, he would get the crown. What do you think?

2007-12-31 17:19:57 · 8 answers · asked by dsgrntld1 1 in Politics

2007-12-31 17:18:29 · 10 answers · asked by Leif N 1 in Elections

one of these little beaches is gonna fall on my car or sumthin

2007-12-31 17:17:29 · 11 answers · asked by wiseless 5 in Law Enforcement & Police

I am planning on getting married in between the time i graduate from AIT and going to my permanent duty station. Will I encounter any problems reguarding my spouse living with me or can this all be resolved while i am on leave. I want to make sure that when i get to my duty station my spouse will be able to live with me, and i wont be stuck in a "singles" living situation.

2007-12-31 17:14:05 · 9 answers · asked by d.a.f.d. 2 in Military

oh ! and please..... it's a real question, I really don't need answers like... maybe he's dead... or things like that... thank you. the thing is that I'm far away and I don't have contact with his family and he told me he was on a mission a month ago and that many of them were injured or dead... so ... can you help me out?

2007-12-31 17:09:51 · 7 answers · asked by purplish_8 2 in Military

I dont think anyone does...

Predictions: 100% No

2007-12-31 17:03:19 · 28 answers · asked by sk8r4lyfe258 1 in Politics

I was just at a family gathering for New Years with family from Ohio ( I live in Michigan) and we got into a conversation about underage drinking. The family member from Ohio stated that there was a law that said that as long as the parent physically hands the alcohol to minors then it is legal. Everyone from Michigan thought that was outrageous and he was wrong.
I've searched for it and the only thing I can find that has anything on that is in reference to Drug Free Alliance. This program appears to only be located in Ohio. We argued for about 20 minutes on this so I just wanted to know if anyone knew anything more about the Drug Free Alliance or if there was a law or anything?

2007-12-31 17:01:32 · 12 answers · asked by m_x_c_lover 2 in Law & Ethics

Are georgia post offices open on Jan 1?

2007-12-31 16:59:10 · 8 answers · asked by coolCharizard 1 in Other - Politics & Government

Most of the people that are working on the fields are immigrants,illegal!!But if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have our fruits and vegetables in the markets.So why are some people against illegal immigrants?If they didn't work would you like their jobs if not what kind of people are good for that job?

2007-12-31 16:59:00 · 25 answers · asked by JOHANA D 3 in Immigration

I got an abortion a few days ago. My exboyfriend's parents want to give me a pregnancy test and take me to the doctors to confirm it. I just want to forget about this whole thing and formally asked them to respect my privacy. They keep contacting me and threatening me that they're going to have to police involved. I never asked anything from them. I never asked for money or anything. Can the police do anything? Can they make me take a pregnancy test even if I don't want to?

2007-12-31 16:58:53 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Law & Ethics